The State Election Commission has released guidelines for the identification of electors in the upcoming Municipal and Town Council Elections, 2024. The Presiding Officer will follow these guidelines to verify the identity of voters.
Electors are required to bring one of the following documents to exercise their franchise: Indian Passport; Driving License; Aadhaar Card; Service Identity Card issued to its employee by the State/Central Government, Public Sector Undertaking, Public Limited Companies; Bank/Post Office PassBook with photograph; Pan Card; Pension Document with photograph; and Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate issued by the Deputy Commissioner/Additional Deputy Commissioner.
The Commission has clarified that documents typically available only for the head of a family can be used for identifying other family members. Similarly, documents in the name of any family member may be used to identify other members, provided the identity can be established based on the particulars in the electoral roll to the satisfaction of the Presiding Officer or Polling Officer.
Minor discrepancies in the details such as the elector’s name, father’s/mother’s/husband’s name, sex, age, or address in the electoral roll will be overlooked, and the elector will be allowed to vote as long as their identity is verifiable according to the electoral roll.
The State Election Commission emphasized that no elector will be allowed to exercise his/her franchise unless he/she produces any of the above documents prescribed by the State Election Commission.